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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23873854">Don't Get Stuck In Your Head</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AWritersFool/pseuds/AWritersFool'>AWritersFool</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Utopia Falls (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, Mind Reading, Mutual Pining, Strangers to Lovers, aliyah and apollo are little shits, brooklyn is whipped, gaymess, sage has a lot of thoughts, they stare too much</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:21:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>15,243</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23873854</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AWritersFool/pseuds/AWritersFool</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Brooklyn has had a crush on Sage for the longest time but never had a chance to speak to her until now. They're both paired up for the Exemplar, the biggest event at the New Babyl Academy. Brooklyn comes to discover that Sage, though infuriating, is a lot more than what she lets on. But Brooklyn is determined to get the girl out of her shell.<br/>Also, Brooklyn can read minds, no biggy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Brooklyn 2/Sage 5 (Utopia Falls)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>113</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Brooklyn was seven years old when it happened to her for the first time. Halloween was approaching and Miss Laura had the fabulous idea of having the class make their own themed costumes. The theme was superheroes. Though Brooklyn was more of a fairy princess type of girl, she could work with it. The girl always had a knack for dressing up. Bright oranges and purples were her go-to colours. Cries of excitement resonated through the classroom as Miss Laura brought in a few dozens of colourful fabrics. Brooklyn had already her whole outfit in mind. A light orange jumpsuit with a lightning bolt tagged on her chest. After getting help from Miss Laura, who had kindly offered to sew the students’ costumes if needed, she went on to paint a bright purple lightning bolt in the middle of the orange fabric.</p><p>“Brooklyn, look! What do you think?” She heard her best friend Aliyah say.</p><p>The little excited girl held a bright blue jumpsuit up with a dark blue circle in the middle. Brooklyn smiled brightly at her friend but just as she was about to answer, she heard someone speak softly near her ear. <em>“Pff, that costume looks ridiculous”</em>, she heard the voice say. Brooklyn, completely startled, looked around the table and asked, “Who said that?” Her classmates all looked at her in confusion while she stared all of them down.</p><p>“Uh Brooklyn,” Aliyah spoke up, “no one said anything. Anyways, what do you think about my fabulous costume?”</p><p>
  <em>“Aliyah is so full of herself, that costume is so ugly.”</em>
</p><p>“Okay, that’s it. Who said her costume was ugly?” Brooklyn asked more fervently, looking at her classmates. No one comes for her friends like that. She caught one of them, Sierra, staring at her. “Was that you?”</p><p>“I didn’t say anything!” Sierra responded.</p><p>“I heard your voice! If you have something to say, then speak up.” Brooklyn stared her down.</p><p>“Brooklyn, calm down! She didn’t say anything.” Aliyah tried to calm her.</p><p>“No! I heard her say that your costume looked ridiculous and that you were full of yourself.”</p><p>“Well I didn’t say it but I sure as hell thought it.” Said Sierra. “Yours too, by the way. I mean you look more like a clown than a superhero with that costume on.”</p><p>Oh, that was it. “Well I think you’d look better with a black eye or a split lip” Brooklyn exclaimed while approaching the girl with a menacing glare. “It’s on.” Sierra responded. Brooklyn flicked a paint brush stained with yellow paint at the taller girl. The other girl, shocked, picked a paint tray palette and threw it at her. Brooklyn could hear the other students around her. She heard so many voices, her head started to pound.</p><p>
  <em>“Ohhh, a paint fight!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I don’t want to get any paint on my clothes.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I wonder what paint I – hey what is going on over there?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I got paint on my shoes; mom is going to kill me.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Ugh these kids are so noisy –  What’s going on?!”</em>
</p><p>“What is going on?!” Brooklyn heard Miss Laura say while she was approaching them. “Everybody quiet! Brooklyn and Sierra, do you have an explanation for me?!” Miss Laura asked sternly.</p><p>“I heard her say mean things about Aliyah!” Brooklyn exclaimed.</p><p>“That’s not true I didn’t say anything!” Sierra defended.</p><p>“Yes, you did!”</p><p>“No, I didn’t!”</p><p>“The both of you, quiet!” Miss Laura yelled. “You will both clean this mess up and have detention, understood?” The two girls nodded resiliently.</p><p><em>“What a freak.”</em> Brooklyn heard that voice again. “Are you kidding me? Miss Laura, she just called me a freak!”</p><p>“I didn’t say anything this time, I swear!” Sierra said hastily.</p><p>Brooklyn’s temper went out of control as her head started pounding again. She heard voices all around her but when she looked up at the other students, no one was speaking. The voices became louder and louder. Brooklyn covered her ears with her hands while kneeling. “Brooks are you okay?” she could hear Aliyah’s voice.</p><p>
  <em>“That Brooklyn girl is so weird.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Wouldn’t want to get into a fight with her…”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“My shoes! My shoes!”</em>
</p><p>“Stop!” She yelled as she lost conscience. The last thing she heard were faint voices all around her.</p><p>She woke up a few hours later in the infirmary. The nurse had already called her parents to come and pick her up. The old lady explained that she had fainted in class, probably due to a pressure drop – or something. Brooklyn wasn’t really listening, well at least she wasn’t listening to what came out of the nurse’s mouth. No, instead she listened to the voice wondering how many more hours until her shift would end. Brooklyn watched the nurse more intensely as the voice faded away, but her head started to pound again. The nurse told her to take it easy, it was just a migraine and would quickly pass. On her way back home, seating in the backseat of her mother’s car, she had a feeling that wasn’t true. It wasn’t just a migraine; it wouldn’t just pass. Brooklyn could hear voices – or more precisely – minds.</p><hr/><p>Mind reading, as Brooklyn came to learn, was both a curse and a blessing. It definitely came in handy during tests that she hadn’t studied for. Although Brooklyn obviously never cheated, she was an honest student. Actually, she used her powers very rarely. Using it would only make her head hurt, and for the longest time she didn’t know how to block out other people’s minds. After the “Paint Fight Disaster” back in second grade, her powers grew stronger. Brooklyn had a hard time being around other people because of that. She came to discover that the more people surrounded her, the hardest it became to cut their thoughts off. She also discovered that the more intense these thoughts were, the louder they would resonate into her ears. Brooklyn also had to keep her emotions in check, her head hurt more when she became more emotional.</p><p>Eventually, the gifted girl learned how to control her powers. By junior year of high school, she was finally able to cut other people’s voices off. Of course, because of her powers, her social life took a big toll. She would avoid crowded places at all costs. She didn’t have many friends. She only had two, Aliyah her best friend since primary school and Apollo whom she had met in freshman year after hearing one of his thoughts. Just like her, he had always felt like an outsider who didn’t fit in. Aliyah and Apollo were also two of the few people who knew about her powers, and – thank Gaia – they didn’t mind it at all. On the contrary they thought her powers were super cool.</p><p>Brooklyn hastily ran into the hallway of New Babyl Academy with her backpack halfway thrown on her shoulder. Of course, if there would be anyone late on the first day of class, it’d be her. She might have superpowers, but nothing would ever compare to her tardiness. It wasn’t her fault though! Her alarm didn’t ring… The second time around. Brooklyn finally got to her class and stumbled in as she opened the door.</p><p>“Finally!” she lightly exhaled, completely out of breath.</p><p> “Miss Reyez,” Brooklyn raised her head and was met with Mister Watts’s stern face. “Thank you for joining us.”</p><p>“Sorry,” Brooklyn said as she adjusted the strap of her backpack. “I… got lost on the way here.”</p><p>“Well I just hope you’ll find your way to your seat at the back of the class.” Mister Watts responded while the class let out soft laughter.</p><p>“Got it.” The girl mumbled and ducked her head. Brooklyn felt eyes on her as she moved at the back. She looked to her right to see a pair of dark brown pools staring back at her. She recognized that girl, Sage Fivel. They shared a few classes back in sophomore year. The Asian girl was very quiet and always seemed to have disinterest for anything that wasn’t school related. She’d walk around like a clenched fist, always so uptight. But Brooklyn had to give it to her, she was one of the best students in the academy. She was also a great dancer, the youngest person to have integrated the academy’s dance troop. Brooklyn remembered watching her at the recital school show last year, and Gaïa was she good. The girl was also <em>really cute</em>. But unfortunately for Brooklyn, Sage never showed any interest. Actually, by the looks the girl gave her – and Brooklyn counted, she only ever looked in her direction twice, once in freshman year during practice, and now at this very moment – she didn’t seem to like Brooklyn very much. Yet that didn’t stop the Latina from throwing a little smirk in the other girl’s direction as she walked to her seat. The girl quickly averted her gaze to the board.</p><p><em>“Girl, what happened to you?”</em> Brooklyn heard Aliyah’s voice resonate through her ears as she sat down next to her. She rolled her eyes and leaned down to whisper, “You know you can just ask normally?”</p><p><em>“And risk getting caught by Mister Watts? No way, that man is scary.” </em>Her best friend sassed back.</p><p>Brooklyn rolled her eyes and smiled softly. She leaned again and said, “Turns out sleeping through my alarm is another superpower of mine.”</p><p>Aliyah laughed softly at that. Their banter was cut short as Mister Watts turned his attention to them.</p><p>“Miss Reyez, Miss Tribe, do you have anything to share with the rest of the class?” He asked, his voice stern as ever.</p><p>“No Sir.” They both quipped, sitting straighter.</p><p>“Good.” They both shared a breath of relief as their teacher moved on. “As I was saying, at this year’s Exemplar you will all be able to showcase your many talents to the rest of the school and to the city.” Cheers resonated through the class. The Exemplar was one of the city’s most acclaimed events, organized by the New Babyl Academy, the country’s most prestigious school of arts. Only a very select few had the opportunity to train at the academy, and Brooklyn was one of the lucky selected ones who would get the chance to compete at the end of senior year. The Exemplar was an excellent way to get visibility as college scouts from all over the world would come collect the best performers.</p><p>“As you know, this show will give you the opportunity to perform in front of the world’s biggest colleges.” Mister Watts continued, “And this year, we have a very special guest.”</p><p>He paused and watched over the entire class as everybody speculated who this guest might be. Brooklyn grimaced as her head started buzzing, the students’ thoughts were starting to get loud.</p><p>“This year, a scout of the New Lazarus College of the Arts will be watching the entire Exemplar.” The class exploded into excited chitter-chatter as Mister Watts announced the news. Brooklyn pressed her hands to her ears, trying to block every thought that made their way around her. She felt Aliyah’s hand on her shoulder and raised her head to see her friend’s sympathetic smile.</p><p>“Alright, settle down!” The outburst of excitement simmered down. Mister Watts continued, “The New Lazarus College will be giving out scholarships to the best performers of the show. Now, to be sure that all the students get an equal chance at showcasing their talents, you will all be given a tale or a myth to base your performances on. Your goal will be to tell that story in the most creative way possible while being careful as to respect and honour the culture from which you borrow inspiration from.” The class erupted into shrills of excitement again.</p><p>“This is not all,” Mister Watts continued, regaining the attention of the students, “The Exemplar isn’t only about competition. As you may come to discover in your future careers, you will have to work with people on lots of different projects. People with whom you don’t necessarily have affinity for. Therefore, during this competition, you will be asked to perform with a partner, showcasing both of your talents individually and as a duo.”</p><p>“Now hold on before you all get excited again!”, Mister Watts said before the class could respond. “To make things more challenging, you won’t be able to choose with whom you get to work. The Exemplar Board has taken the liberty of configuring the different duos, making sure that each partner will challenge the other and bring out the best of each other during this competition.”</p><p><em>“This is absurd. How can we be fully creative if they keep on imposing things on us?”</em> Brooklyn heard one of the fleeting thoughts that swirled around the class as students started to voice their concern, and she couldn’t help but agree with that person. She preferred working on her own craft alone anyways as group projects tend to stress her out because of the, you know, mind reading ordeal.</p><p>“I know you must feel as if we’re imposing,” Mister Watts interrupted the class’s meltdown, “but trust me. The college scouts will not only judge you based on your talent, they will judge you on your adaptability and your capacity to work with others. Those are skills you all ought to learn if you want a successful career.”</p><p>The class finally settled as the deafening buzz in Brooklyn’s ears faded. “Now, I will call the different groups.” The teacher pulled out a piece of paper. “You will then have time to gather with your partner at the end of the lesson to plan your routine if needed be. Alright, first duo, Magnus Taggart and Apollo Shield. You will be telling the story of Romulus and Remus.”</p><p><em>“Dammit, I wanted Tempo.” </em>Brooklyn looked over to her right at Apollo who wore a small pout on his face. He turned his attention to the Latina and said, “You heard that, didn’t you?”</p><p>Brooklyn grinned widely. “You can’t always get what you want.” She teased lightly. “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed, but I bet he would’ve wanted to be your partner too.”</p><p>“Really? Did you –“Apollo exclaimed before bringing his voice down to a whisper, “did you hear him think that?”</p><p>“Apollo please, I’m not that intrusive.” She smiled innocently. “But maybe.” She added to torment the boy.</p><p><em>“I just hope I’m not getting Bodhi.” </em>Brooklyn turned her attention to Aliyah’s thought. <em>“That guy is too hard-headed to work with.”</em></p><p>“Aliyah Tribe and Bodhi Times. You have the Japanese tale of The Star-crossed Lovers.” Mister Watts announced.</p><p>Brooklyn broke into laughter. “Careful what you wish for, Aliyah.” She laughed harder when she heard Aliyah’s desperate “Shut up.”</p><p>“Man, you two really have the worst luck.” She teased her best friends while they both glared at her.</p><p>“Shut up, you’ll probably end up with Tempo.” Aliyah said.</p><p>“Oh please,” Brooklyn scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Mister Watts knows that me and Tempo would just end up beating each other up.”</p><p>“I, for one, wouldn’t mind ending up with Tempo.” Apollo mumbled lightly.</p><p>Their attention was brought back to Mister watts. “Tempo Fyer and Kris Rhodes, you two get the Fox and the Crow.”</p><p><em>“Lucky bastard!” </em>Brooklyn heard Apollo think.</p><p>She shrugged at both her friends. “See? I mean nothing could get worse than getting Tempo and since he’s taken – “</p><p>Her sentence was cut short at Mister Watts’s next words. “Brooklyn Reyez and Sage Fivel. You two will be telling the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. A personal favourite of mine.”</p><p>Oh. Welp.</p><p>Brooklyn’s eyes went wide as she processed what she had just heard.</p><p>“Careful what you wish for.” Aliyah sing-songed.</p><p>“Yeah, how does it feel having to work with a girl you had a crush on forever but who actually hates your guts?” Apollo added, grinning widely.</p><p>Brooklyn came back to her senses and punched him lightly. “Shut up, I don’t have a crush on her.”</p><p>“Yeah, right.”</p><p>“Girl, who are you lying to?”</p><p>“Guys I don’t, okay?” Brooklyn defended. “I don’t even know that girl. And she doesn’t hate me! She doesn’t even know who I am!”</p><p>“Well, tell her that.” Apollo pointed at the other side of the classroom. Brooklyn turned around and was met with those brown eyes again. Sage stared at her and then turned her attention to the front of the class, rolling her eyes and exhaling lightly.</p><p>“She seems pretty keen on working with you.” Aliyah said sarcastically.</p><p>“Definitely doesn’t hate you, for sure.” Apollo added nodding his head fervently.</p><p>“Both of you shut up.” Brooklyn said as they both snickered lightly. </p><p>“Alright.” Mister Watts finally called out all the groups. “You may now join your partners and discuss until the end of this period.”</p><p>Brooklyn turned to look at the other girl and decided to go to her since she wasn’t making any move to join the Latina. “Good luck.” Brooklyn heard Aliyah say with a smirk on her face.</p><p>“I think I’m the one who should tell you that.” She sassed back. Making her way to the other side of the classroom. “Oh hey, Bodhi.” She said as he passed by. He nodded at her, making his way to Aliyah. Brooklyn then turned and grinned mischievously at her friend. She was met with a glare and an eye roll. She laughed lightly, arriving at Sage’s desk. <em>The girl won’t even look up. The nerve.</em></p><p>“Hey! I’m –“ She started but was immediately cut short.</p><p>“Brooklyn.” Sage finally raised her head. And, okay. Wow. Her eyes were even prettier from up close. “Yes, I remember.”</p><p>Brooklyn smirked lightly. “What? I left a strong impression on you?” She asked cocking her head.</p><p>“No, Mister Watts said your name. Twice.” Sage said flatly.</p><p>“… Right.” Brooklyn said. “So, um, do you have any idea of what we could do?”</p><p>“I was thinking of doing a dance number. You dance, right?”</p><p>“Amongst my many talents, yes.” Brooklyn smirked. The girl clearly wasn’t impressed. “But I mostly sing. Can you sing?”</p><p>“No, I don’t. But we can incorporate that into the routine.”</p><p>“Alright. Cool.” The Latina said. An awkward beat passed between the two girls.</p><p> “We could meet up later this week.” Sage finally spoke up. “Meet me on Friday at the dance studio at 2.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure. Friday sounds good.” Brooklyn could only say as she watched the girl gather her belongings on her desk.</p><p>Just then the bell rang and without a word, Sage gave Brooklyn a tight-lipped smile and exited the class. Brooklyn watched her as she joined her friends. This girl was… something.</p><hr/><p>This girl was infuriating. Brooklyn had only known her for less than a week and had only spoken to her once in the span of it, but she could already tell that this girl would be the end of her. Brooklyn, as always, arrived late. It wasn’t her fault though! Mister Chapter had ended the vocal practice later than usual (which had also left Brooklyn’s throat completely sore, might she add). By the time the singer arrived at the dance studio she was already out of breath. She came into the studio ready to apologize for her tardiness but stopped short as she watched Sage dance to an upbeat soundtrack. Brooklyn was mesmerized by the dancer’s moves. Her steps were sharp and focused but had a softness to them. She glided across the floor with ease, holding her arms out. She then spun and landed in an arabesque position. Bringing her leg in, she brought her hands to the ground and positioned herself into a handstand. The girl then rose up again, swayed to both sides and spun as the song ended.</p><p>Brooklyn was really impressed. Sage’s style was quite traditional with a dash of contemporary dance, and another style of exotic dance that Brooklyn couldn’t name. Very few people could execute such moves properly. And, <em>of course</em>, Sage would be one of these people. “You’re really good.” Brooklyn said as she walked further into the room, startling the other girl who hadn’t noticed her presence.</p><p>She kept her eyes on Sage as she responded slightly unnerved. “You’re late.”</p><p>“Yeah, sorry. Class ended later than usual.” Brooklyn apologized.</p><p>“You could’ve warned me, I’ve been here for over an hour already.” The dancer scoffed. “Doesn’t matter. We should get started.”</p><p>The two girls went on to practice. Sage showed Brooklyn some basic moves to start with. They had been practicing for over an hour and the Latina had finally succumbed. She dropped to the floor, lying on the ground completely out of breath.</p><p>Sage looked at her exasperated. “Come on, get up.”</p><p>“Can we take a break.” Brooklyn whined. “I’m tired and we’ve been dancing for seventeen hours.”</p><p>“You’re such a drama queen. And it’s only been an hour. Now get up.”</p><p>Brooklyn got up reluctantly. “Okay, but can we do something else? We’ve been doing the same four moves all this time. It’s getting boring.”</p><p>The dancer scoffed at her. “These are basic ballet moves, and you still can’t get them right. I’m surprised you didn’t learn how to do them before. Didn’t you tell me you could dance?”</p><p>“Well, first of all, I can. Thank you very much.” The Latina defended. “I just haven’t taken ballet. Besides it’s boring. Don’t you think we should spice it up a bit?”</p><p>Sage looked at her perplexed. “It’s the purest form of dance possible. And It’s perfect to express the essence of this story.”</p><p>“Yeah, well telling a story through ballet has been done so many times before. That form of performance is so outdated.” Brooklyn argued back.</p><p>“It’s not!” The other girl exclaimed. “You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“It is. And I’m pretty sure all the other groups are either going to go for something traditional or actually stand out. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather stand out.”</p><p>“Oh yeah? And what, should we do tango then?” Sage mocked.</p><p> “Why not? I’m just saying, traditional is boring. If we want to win this thing, we need to think outside of the box.” Brooklyn said. “We could combine different styles, like you just did before I came in. That was pretty flames.”</p><p>The dancer frowned at that. Brooklyn watched as the girl was trying to formulate her thoughts. She stared into her eyes and saw a flash of uncertainty. Brooklyn could feel her head buzzing as those brown pools lured her deeper into the girl’s thoughts. <em>Nope. Not doing this.</em> The singer quickly averted her gaze.</p><p>Sage looked off to the side and crossed her arms before speaking up. “You weren’t supposed to see that. It was terrible.”</p><p>Brooklyn was taken aback. “You’re kidding me, right? That was really good.”</p><p>Sage raised her head, her eyebrows drawn into a frown. For a moment, she seemed lost in her thoughts. <em>Gaïa, that girl thinks too much.</em> Brooklyn tried her best to block off Sage’s thoughts as they were getting more and more intense. She bit her lip lightly while supressing the envy of bringing her hands to her ears, she didn’t want to appear crazy in front of the other girl.</p><p>Sage shook her head and finally spoke up. “It doesn’t matter whether it was good or not. If we want to win, we have to play by the rules of the game. And tradition is the safe bet here.” Any trace of uncertainty vanished from the dancer’s face as she straightened herself, her look setting Brooklyn down.</p><p>“Ugh, why do you have to be so stubborn about it?” Brooklyn grumbled.</p><p>“Look if you don’t want to collaborate, that’s your problem.” Sage responded defensively. “I’m not putting to risk my only chance at getting a scholarship.”</p><p>“Are you kidding me? You’re the one not collaborating.” The Latina countered, getting heated.</p><p>“Well fine! Go find yourself another partner then.” Sage went to her bag and stomped towards the exit. “I’m done with this.”</p><p>Brooklyn watched the dancer as she stepped passed her. “Sage, wait!” She called out but the girl was already out the door.</p><p>
  <em>“Ugh, she’s impossible to work with.”</em>
</p><p>Brooklyn heard in the back of her ears. Only she couldn’t tell whether it was Sage thinking it, or if it was her on thought. In either case, she couldn’t help but agree with that.</p><p>
  <strong>_________________________________</strong>
</p><p>A week passed since their first rehearsal. Brooklyn hadn’t heard from the other girl since and didn’t know how to approach her. The dancer seemed to avoid her at all cost. She wouldn’t even spare her a glance during class. Brooklyn had never met anyone like Sage before, but she could tell that the girl was the type of person who kept everything to herself. She had seen it in her eyes when they argued, the storm building up on the inside. The dancer was infuriating and stubborn, but something about her was just so captivating. Brooklyn had a feeling that the quiet girl was so much more than what she let on. She could only wonder why the dancer just didn’t let loose.</p><p>“Earth to Brooklyn? You there?” Apollo shook her out of her reverie as they were making their way to their usual table at the back of the dining hall.</p><p>She looked up at her friend. “Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking.” She said as they both sat down.</p><p>“Thinking about your crush?” He teased, wiggling his eyebrows.</p><p>Brooklyn huffed. “She’s not my crush.”</p><p>“I didn’t even have to say her name and you knew who I was talking about.” The boy taunted; a smirk plastered on his face.</p><p>The Latina threw a grape at him. “You better shut up. I don’t like her like that.”</p><p>“Oooh, are we talking about Brooks’ crush on Sage?” Aliyah asked excitedly, joining in on the teasing while sitting down next to Apollo.</p><p>Brooklyn rolled her eyes at them. “You guys are impossible.” She said exasperatedly, shaking her head. “Besides if we’re talking about crushes, why don’t you tell us more about your star-crossed lover, Aliyah?”</p><p>“Ugh, please. He is so annoying.”</p><p>“Really? ‘Cause the other day I could’ve sworn you had thought he was – and I quote – ‘so cute with his jumpsuit on’.” Brooklyn laughed as her best friend shoved her head.</p><p>“Brooklyn, you didn’t – that is so intrusive!” Aliyah exclaimed.</p><p>“Stop thinking about it so loudly then.” She sneered raising her eyebrows at Aliyah.</p><p>“Okay he is kind of cute.” The curled haired girl admitted. “But he’s so hard to work with and so stubborn.”</p><p>“Well at least he’s not uptight like my partner.” Brooklyn groaned. “Like, I swear to Gaïa, that girl has a stick up her ass. She won’t do anything that is not traditional.”</p><p>“I mean she kind of has a reason to.” Apollo said, taking a big chomp of his sandwich. The singer looked at him questioningly. “She’s from the Fivel clan. One of the biggest family in the showbiz.”</p><p>Brooklyn was taken aback by that. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“What you’ve been crushing on her since freshman year and you didn’t know?”</p><p>“I don’t have – whatever. Just tell me what’s the big deal.” Brooklyn pressed on.</p><p>“Do you remember that Pack guy who won the Exemplar 7 years ago and got admitted at the New Lazarus College?” He asked. Brooklyn nodded. That guy was one of the most famous New Babyl Academy alumni. The dancer had starred on various Broadway shows and was one of the youngest nominated actors at the Tony’s. “Well that’s her brother.”</p><p>Brooklyn would’ve spat her drink if she had one. “No way. That was her brother?! That guy was fucking phenomenal!” She exclaimed, her eyes going wide.</p><p>“Yup. Sage has got like four older siblings that all got into prestigious colleges. Their parents are apparently super strict when it comes to that, considering they’re both two of the biggest choreographers in the business.” Apollo said matter-of-factly.</p><p>“How do you know all this?” Aliyah asked him confused.</p><p>“Mags, my partner, he’s Sage’s best friend. They’ve known each other since they were kids. According to him, Sage can be very, um, reserved. She doesn’t open up easily.”</p><p><em>Yeah, no kidding.</em> Brooklyn exhaled lightly. “Well it doesn’t give her the right to be so cold to me.”</p><p>“Maybe you should give her a chance.” Aliyah prompted.</p><p>“Give her a chance? How? She won’t even look at me.”</p><p>“I mean Sage is pretty talented. You wouldn’t pass up a chance to work with one of the best students in the Academy, would you?” Apollo replied, shrugging. “If she doesn’t want to let go of the traditional style, then make a compromise with her.”</p><p>Just then, Brooklyn saw a lean figure walk hastily to the other side of the dining hall. Sage was sporting her usual low pig tails and was making her way to the exit. She was probably going to the studio. Brooklyn’s eyes followed her until she went through the door. Her friends had gone on with the conversation, talking about Mister Watts’ lesson, or something. Brooklyn was too deep in her thoughts to pay attention. She had to find a way to make Sage get out of her comfort zone.</p><p>
  <em>Compromise, huh. </em>
</p><p>
  <strong>_________________________________</strong>
</p><p>Shortly after lunch, Brooklyn made her way to the dance studio. She wasn’t surprised to find a certain brunette. However, she was surprised by what she saw. Sage was dancing to a beautiful slow song. And, <em>good Gaïa</em>, the way she moved. That was nothing like what Brooklyn saw at the first rehearsal. The dancer was moving so lightly, it seemed as if she was floating on air. It was <em>definitely not</em> ballet. It didn’t look like any genre Brooklyn had seen before. The dancer must’ve combined different styles. The girl’s moves were ferocious yet soft, sharp yet flowing. There was so much passion in the way she swayed, spun, leaped. She hit every beat of the song perfectly.</p><p><em>Wow. </em>Brooklyn was transfixed by the way the girl translated every single emotion of the song in every move. Sage brought her body swiftly to the ground extending one leg in front of her as the song faded. A moment passed before she finally stood up. Brooklyn decided then to speak up. “That was a really beautiful dance.”</p><p>Sage raised her head and watched the Latina’s reflexion in the mirror. She was clearly stunned, not expecting anyone else’s presence. She turned around; her face unsettled. “Geez. Are you creeping up on me?” She demanded.</p><p>“You know I’ve been trying to figure you out and now I finally get it.” She said while approaching the girl, instead of answering her question.</p><p> “Get what?” Sage was getting heated.</p><p>“Why you walk around like a clenched fist. Why you stick so much to tradition.” She replied, still getting closer to the dancer. The girl looked at her questioningly.</p><p> “I know you have four older siblings who all competed in the Exemplar using traditional performances and have all gotten into prestigious colleges. You have a lot of responsibility put on your shoulders to follow into their footsteps.”</p><p>“Did you – did you research me?” The girl scoffed disbelievingly.</p><p>“That also means you’re used to comply to these expectations that your family puts on you.” Brooklyn continued, ignoring the girl’s remark. “I also know you’re one of the highest achieving students at the Academy.”</p><p>She paused, watching Sage’s reaction. She could see the girl’s façade crumble slowly as she spoke. “And I’m guessing that’s why you never let loose. Not in life and definitely not in your dancing.”</p><p>Brooklyn watched her struggle to come up with a retort. The dancer blinked lightly, that same storm passing through her eyes. <em>There you are.</em></p><p>“You don’t even know me.” She finally said unconvincingly, her voice much softer.</p><p>“I’m just calling it as I see it.” Brooklyn replied, a soft smile curling on her face. She held the girl’s gaze for a little moment before standing straight again and making her way to the door.</p><p>She turned around, throwing another smile. “I’ll be here tomorrow, if you decide to join me for rehearsal.” She didn’t wait for an answer and exited the room. As she walked out the hall, she could hear a voice resonate in her ear.</p><p>
  <em>“What the hell was that about?”</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Brooklyn has had a crush on Sage for the longest time but never had a chance to speak to her until now. They're both paired up for the Exemplar, the biggest event at the New Babyl Academy. Brooklyn comes to discover that Sage, though infuriating, is a lot more than what she lets on. But Brooklyn is determined to get the girl out of her shell.<br/>Also, Brooklyn can read minds, no biggy.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again! I'm sorry for the delay, I know I said I'd post it yesterday but I got caught up with school work. I decided to devide the two last chapters both into two, so instead of 3 chapters, you get 5 in total yayyy!! I'm also planning on writing an epilogue so make it 6 !!<br/>Writing these two is so much fun, they're literally the cutest, especially in this chapter (which is my favorite btw). Currently I'm writing the last chapter and I will be posting the next one later this week. So without further ado, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day, Brooklyn went to the dance studio after her lesson with Mister Chapter. She was disappointed not to see the brunette dancing her heart out. She made her way to the back of the room and sat at the grand piano. She didn’t know if Sage would come. It would be inconvenient, as they still hadn’t advanced yet in their routine. Brooklyn decided not to think too much about it. <em>If she made up her mind, then she will come.</em> The singer decided to wait out. She started playing a little while warming up her voice. Brooklyn closed her eyes and thought of the song Sage had been dancing to. She tried to find the correct chords while remembering the lyrics. As she started singing, she could feel the tension of the last few days fade away. Singing had always been her solace, her comfort.</p><p>Brooklyn discovered music at the age of eight. Her teacher then had the whole class watching the musical “Annie”. She encouraged the pupils to sing along the musical parts. Brooklyn hadn’t yet learned how to control her powers and was suffering as her head pounded. She heard voices everywhere around her but didn’t want to cause a scene again in front of her class like the year before. As Annie was belting out ‘Tomorrow’ on screen, Brooklyn decided to concentrate on the lyrics. She found out that by doing so, she couldn’t hear the others. The little girl then started to sing out loud with the rest of the class, and all she could hear was her voice. Later on, singing became much more than a way to protect herself. She really enjoyed it. Having a beautiful voice helped too. By middle school, Brooklyn knew she wanted to pursue a career in music.</p><p>Singing was the only moment she could have for herself, with no other voices to cloud her own. Though, <em>right now</em>, other people’s thoughts weren’t what was invading her mind. Brooklyn tried to concentrate on the lyrics as she sang, trying to capture the emotion and essence of the song. But the only thing she could picture was a lean figure, swaying to the melody of this song. All she could capture was soft hands thrown in the air, and trained feet spinning on the ground. All she could see was two brown hair tails flowing and light brown eyes staring back at her. <em>Really pretty eyes</em> –</p><p>
  <em>“She really is beautiful when she sings.”</em>
</p><p>Brooklyn opened her eyes and stopped abruptly. Did she just hear Sage’s voice? Calling her beautiful? <em>No, it must’ve been my imagination.</em> She thought, shaking her head. There was no one around how could she hear someone else’s – Brooklyn turned around and saw Sage standing at the door. <em>Oh.</em></p><p>The girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights. A beat passed before she spoke up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” She apologized, stepping into the room.</p><p>Brooklyn looked at her perplexed. She really did hear Sage think she was beautiful, then. The singer huffed lightly. “Who’s creeping on me now? Just how long have you been there?” She asked, bemused.</p><p>The dancer averted her gaze, embarrassed. Brooklyn could see a light blush grazing the quiet girl’s cheeks. <em>“Oh, my Gaïa. She totally knows I’ve been staring at her all this time.”</em></p><p>“I just arrived.” Sage stuttered nervously. The singer scoffed at that. <em>Pff. Liar.</em></p><p>Brooklyn clicked her tongue. “Right.” She said disbelievingly.</p><p>Sage bit her lip as she debated her next words. “Listen, I’m sorry about the way I treated you. I just –“ She cut herself off not knowing how to express herself. Brooklyn could see that she struggled to find the right words.</p><p><em>“I’m just worried that –“ </em> The singer blocked the other girl’s thought. This was getting way too intrusive. She decided to take pity on her.</p><p>“Hey, I get it.” She said reassuringly. Sage raised her head at that. “You just want to win this thing. And so do I. So, I’m proposing you a compromise.”</p><p>Sage frowned questioningly. “A compromise?”</p><p>“We can stick to traditional, but not only ballet. I want to combine different forms of traditional genres like contemporary or waltz. Or that thing you were doing yesterday. <em>That</em>, with this song, it would be just perfect.”</p><p>Sage was taken aback. “I… It was a mix of contemporary and jazz. I added some capoeira in it as well. It’s really not that great, I –“</p><p>“Sage, shut up.” Brooklyn stopped her. The other girl raised her head and stared at her. “That was great. <em>You</em> were great. And… You kinda look good when you let loose.” Brooklyn let out a little smirk.</p><p>A blush spread quickly on the dancer’s face. <em>“Is she – did she just… Flirt?”</em></p><p>Brooklyn could’ve laughed at that. This girl was too easy to taunt.</p><p>“I – um. Thanks.” Was all she could mutter out. Brooklyn smirked again. Her eyes drifted up and down Sage’s body, then looked straight into her eyes with a glint of smugness.</p><p>“<em>Oh my Gaïa, she totally just checked me out.” </em>Sage stood straighter, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, seemingly feeling self-conscious.</p><p>Brooklyn knew she shouldn’t intrude like this. But there was something oddly satisfying, knowing she had this effect on the dancer. Besides it was hard to keep the girl out of her head, considering she’s all the singer had been thinking about during the last few days. This could be <em>interesting</em>.</p><p>“I see you’re ready to dance.” She finally said pointing at the girl’s practice clothes. “How about I play some piano while you warm up?”</p><p>“Sounds good.” The girl breathed out. She moved to the back of the room to drop off her bag then came to the center of the studio as Brooklyn started playing. She used the same melody from the song she had just been playing but without singing. This time, she focused on the dancer as she stretched. Brooklyn’s eyes were held captive by every move. <em>She really is something.</em> Sage danced freely, nothing like the traditional style she advocated for a few days back. The singer couldn’t help but smile, watching the girl attentively.</p><p>
  <em>“She has to stop looking at me like this or I’m gonna combust.”</em>
</p><p>Brooklyn caught herself from laughing. She raised her eyes from where they were set on Sage’s body to find a pair of brown pools reflected on the mirror, staring back at her. Sage quickly averted her gaze as she continued moving, ending with a spin.</p><p>“Those moves were flames!” Brooklyn complimented. “You’ve gotta teach me those.”</p><p>“Thanks, but I don’t think you’d be up for it.” Sage replied, a light smile playing on her lips. “I mean you could barely keep up the last time we trained.”</p><p>Brooklyn scoffed fake offendedly. “Okay, first of all, that was ballet. How’d do you expect me to know about that. And second of all, how dare you? I’m an excellent learner.”</p><p>Sage chuckled lightly at that. <em>Gaïa, her laugh is so cute.</em> “Oh really?” she asked teasingly.</p><p>Brooklyn stood up and joined the other girl in the middle of the studio. She approached slowly while staring straight into her eyes. As she got closer, any trace of glimmer on the dancer’s face was replaced with a wave of nervousness. Brooklyn smirked as she arrived right in front of her. “Try me.”</p><p>Sage breathed lightly, shifting her weight onto her other leg. <em>“Her voice is so smooth, what the hell.”</em></p><p>“Okay. Well, um. What you wanna do is throw your left leg backward, like this, then you extend your right arm.” Sage showed her how to do the steps. Brooklyn did the moves, keeping her eyes on the other girl the whole time.</p><hr/><p>They had been practicing for an hour already. The steps had become gradually harder and, okay maybe Brooklyn underestimated this whole thing. She had a hard time keeping up with Sage. The dancer was now showing her a step called ‘penché’ – whatever that fucking meant – where she had to lean forward and stretch her leg upward into a split. As Brooklyn tried to imitate the move, she lost her balance and fell to the ground.</p><p>She heard the girl chuckle lightly. Brooklyn looked up at her and huffed teasingly. “Don’t make fun of me!” Sage could only laugh harder, pressing the palm of her hand to her forhead. She approached the Latina and helped her up.</p><p>“A great learner, huh?” She teased, smirking.</p><p>“Okay well, not everybody has great form like you do.” Brooklyn retorted.</p><p>Sage shook her head lightly. “Here, let me show you.” She came closer to Brooklyn, settling herself behind her. Brooklyn’s heartbeat picked up as she felt Sage’s hand pressing against the bare skin of her waist, near the ends of her crop top. She looked in the mirror and could see that Sage was as dazed as her. She locked eyes with her through their reflections on the mirror. A little smile played on the singer’s lips. Brooklyn slowly pressed her back to Sage’s front while keeping eye contact. She heard a little sharp intake.</p><p>
  <em>“Oh, my Gaïa, what is she doing?”</em>
</p><p>Sage seemed to be frozen in place. Brooklyn brought her hand and laid it on top of Sage’s on her waist. That seemed to provoke the girl out of her reverie. “Okay, what do I do now?” Brooklyn asked innocently, as if she didn’t know she had an effect on the poor girl.</p><p>Sage shook herself out of it. <em>“Geez, get yourself together.”</em></p><p>“Right.” She coughed. “Now you just have to lean forward. You can lean on my hand.” She helped Brooklyn forward, then brought her other hand to the singer’s leg and lifted it up. Brooklyn had still trouble trying to balance herself, but it was definitely better. She focused on extending her leg and elongating her body.</p><p>
  <em>“I would’ve imagined lifting her leg up like this under other circumstances, but this isn’t so bad.”</em>
</p><p>Brooklyn almost chocked. She watched Sage’s face through the mirror. The girl was clearly checking her out. The dancer then shook her head. <em>“Gaïa, don’t be such a creep, geez.” </em></p><p>Sage released her hold on Brooklyn’s leg and went to remove her hand off her waist. Brooklyn had an idea then and decided to catch the girl’s hand, holding onto it as she stood straight and spun on her feet. Sage, startled, let herself be pulled as Brooklyn spun her around too. Brooklyn then grabbed the other girl by her waist, bringing them both closer to one another. Sage’s eyes went wide as her hand landed on the singer’s upper arms. Their bodies were tightly pressed, and their faces were only mere inches from each other. The girl stared at her, an inexplicable look on her face as they both breathed deeply. “See, you’re not the only one who’s got great moves.” Brooklyn said, her voice barely above a whisper.</p><p>Brooklyn brought her gaze down to the dancer’s lips. Looking up again, she saw something shift in the other girl’s eyes.  <em>“She’s so close. If I get any closer, I could just...”</em></p><p>Sage looked at Brooklyn’s lips, biting hers. They both leaned closer and –</p><p>The moment was interrupted by the sound of a ringtone. Both girls were startled and jumped out of each other’s grasp. They took a moment to recollect themselves, avoiding each other’s eyes. Sage was furiously blushing as she went to take her phone in her bag. Brooklyn toyed with her hair, watching Sage answer her phone. She spoke in a hushed tone. Brooklyn decided to block off Sage’s thoughts at that moment, not wanting to intrude on whatever discussion she was having.</p><p>The girl finally hung up. “I think we should call it a day.” She said, turning to Brooklyn. “It’s getting late and I need to get home.”</p><p>“Yeah sure. We can continue tomorrow.” Brooklyn replied, watching the girl throwing her backpack over her shoulder. “We should definitely incorporate that last move in the routine though. It was pretty flames.”</p><p>“Yeah it was really good.” Sage agreed, smiling sheepishly. <em>“Especially that last part.”</em> Brooklyn heard her add mentally and smiled to herself.</p><p>They both made their way out the studio, silently walking towards the entrance of the Academy and glancing at the other occasionally. They both stared at each other as they crossed the entrance and stood there. The girls shared a smile, none of them was making a move to leave.</p><p>“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Brooklyn finally spoke up.</p><p>Sage nodded at her. “Alright. See you then, Sweet Sage.” Brooklyn smirked at her. She then turned around and walked away. She threw one last glance at the girl.</p><p>
  <em>“Sweet Sage? – This girl is going to be the end of me.”</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Flustered Sage is my favorite Sage by far. Don't forget to leave a kudos or a comment if you liked it, I'd love to hear what you think! or you can hit me up on twitter @pumpkinunderco</p><p>Also fun fact: the song Sage danced to in the last chapter and that Brooklyn sings in this one is “Work Song” by Hozier, which is my favorite song of all time. I thought it’d be fitting for their performance on Orpheus and Eurydice :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Brooklyn has had a crush on Sage for the longest time but never had a chance to speak to her until now. They're both paired up for the Exemplar, the biggest event at the New Babyl Academy. Brooklyn comes to discover that Sage, though infuriating, is a lot more than what she lets on. But Brooklyn is determined to get the girl out of her shell.<br/>Also, Brooklyn can read minds, no biggy.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again! Thank you all for the nice feedback on the last chapter, I really appreciate it! Here's the third chapter of the story I hope you enjoy it as well!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few weeks had passed since that rehearsal. Brooklyn and Sage grew to be more comfortable around each other as a dance duo. Brooklyn was definitely making progress on the whole dancing thing. And Sage, she was slowly opening up to the singer. And, Gaïa, Brooklyn wouldn’t be able to describe the girl she came to discover. Let’s just say, Sage left a lot to the imagination. She was an enigma that no one seemed to figure out; a question mark left unanswered. But she had this aura around her that left Brooklyn wanting to know more about her. Of course, for Brooklyn, it would have been easy to figure the girl out faster, to just get into her head and snatch out every passing thought. But even if she had done that, it wouldn’t completely unravel the mystery that is Sage Fivel.</p><p>Sage was quiet, but she was a force to be reckoned with. She wasn’t outspoken but was really passionate. The girl was a storm brewing on the inside that only flowed out her body when she was alone. The storm, translating itself in the form of elongated arms and sharp twirls and – what the heck – penché’s. Years of being put under pressure would do that to you, Brooklyn thought. All of these bottled feelings expressed in one swift move, that spoke more than words could ever do. <em>That</em> was the glimpse of the real Sage, Brooklyn had hoped to find.</p><p>But Sage wasn’t just the storm, Brooklyn discovered. She could be sweet and gentle, like the sun that seeps through the clouds after the havoc. She could be kind and patient, or brave and determined. Sometimes, she could even be playful and mischievous.</p><p>(Like that one time during rehearsals, when she not-so-subtly checked Brooklyn out while she was stretching.</p><p><em>“Damn, she could definitely get it with an ass like that.”</em> The dancer had thought.</p><p>“See something you like?” Brooklyn had asked amused, locking gazes with her.</p><p>Brooklyn had been surprised to see the girl smirking back at her. “I mean the view is definitely not bad.” Sage had husked. The girl had chuckled when she saw a blush spreading on the singer’s face.</p><p>Brooklyn had been taken aback then. <em>She is getting bolder, huh.</em> The Latina would’ve been lying if she said she didn’t like that.)</p><p>Sage was all of these things and so much more. And Brooklyn felt herself being pulled more and more everyday into the heart of the storm, as she got to know Sage better.</p><p>“Brooks, what’s that goofy smile on your face all about?”</p><p>Brooklyn was shaken out of reverie at Aliyah’s voice. They’re were sat in the in the great hall. “Mmh?” She hummed, distracted.</p><p>“What are you so smiley about?” Apollo pressed on, a knowing smile on his lips. “Or should I say, <em>who</em> are you so smiley about?”</p><p>Brooklyn rolled her eyes. “No one in particular.” She answered unconvincingly. Her friends shared a disbelieving look then stared back at the Latina expectantly. “Okay, okay. I… was thinking about Sage.” She conceded.</p><p>“Called it!”</p><p>“Finally, you admit you like this girl!”</p><p>“So, did you ask her out on a date yet?”</p><p>“Apollo, of course she didn’t. Have you seen how stubborn she is?”</p><p>“Guys, come on!” Brooklyn interrupted her annoying friends. “No I haven’t, yet. And I don’t know, I don’t want to mess it up.” She paused, blushing lightly. “I… I really like her.”</p><p>“Well does she like you back?” Aliyah asked.</p><p>Brooklyn looked away guiltily. “Well she didn’t say it out loud – “</p><p>“Brooklyn you did not get into this girl’s head, did you?” Her friend exclaimed.</p><p>“It wasn’t my fault!” She defended, raising her hands. Aliyah tilted her head incredulously. “It wasn’t partially my fault. The girl just thinks to loud it’s hard to block her voice out.”</p><p>“Girl, that is so morally incorrect. If she finds out, she’s gonna freak out!”</p><p>“I know, I know, I just – I don’t know what to do.” Brooklyn surrendered. “You guys, she’s not what I expected. I just can’t keep her out of my head no matter how hard I try.”</p><p>Brooklyn lowered her head. She felt her friends’ eyes on her. Of course, she felt bad for reading some of the girl’s thoughts. But how could she not? The girl had taken over her like a fever.</p><p>“I think you should come clean to her.” Apollo spoke up. “Tell her how you feel before she finds out you’ve been spying on her.”</p><p>“I wasn’t spying!” She defended. “How am I even supposed to do that? She’s gonna freak out if I tell her about my powers.”</p><p>“Yes, but if she finds out on her own, you’re in big trouble.” Aliyah pointed out. “Besides, if she likes you, like you say she does, I don’t think she would really mind.”</p><p>Her friends, as annoying as they could be, were right. Brooklyn didn’t want the girl to think she was playing her all along. She had to come clean about the way she felt about the dancer that haunted her head.</p><p>Brooklyn raised her head as she saw a familiar figure passing through the hall. Sage, beautiful as always, was walking along her two friends. The girls locked eyes, and just like every time Brooklyn practiced with the dancer, the world around her just seem to vanish when those brown eyes focused on her. She sent a little smile to the other girl. Sage was on the other end of the hall, but Brooklyn could see the light blush adorning her face. Sage smiled back at her and sent a little wave while exiting the hall. The Latina followed her with her eyes until she couldn’t see her anymore.</p><p>“Oh, there she goes again.”</p><p>“Man, she’s got it bad.”</p><p>Brooklyn rolled her eyes at her friends’ teasing and shoved both of them as they laughed out loud. “Shut up.” She muttered, her face reddening.</p><hr/><p><br/>“Brooklyn stop goofing around!”</p><p>She was back in the studio with Sage. They had been perfecting their routine for the past two hours. And if Brooklyn was being honest, it was pretty flames already. As the days passed, Sage was becoming more open to incorporating other styles and new combinations in their dance. The dancer had even gone on to add <em>fucking</em> <em>flamenco</em> into the routine. <em>Like how does she even</em> – you know what, Brooklyn was just not surprised anymore at this point.</p><p>To say she was amazed by the girl’s creativity was an understatement. Actually, Sage had so many ideas, it was hard to keep up with it. Brooklyn felt a sense of pride, knowing the girl felt comfortable enough around her to let loose of every idea she had in mind. Her body on the other hand could barely take it. Sage would put her through the most intense stances, that oddly really looked good. But if we’re being honest again, Brooklyn would do absolutely anything the dancer told her to, only for a chance to see the satisfied smile on her face.</p><p>Sage was chuckling as she watched Brooklyn intentionally lose balance in one of the stances. “What? You don’t think this is a sick move?” She teased. Sage laughed harder when Brooklyn really did lose balance and fell flat on the ground.</p><p>“Yeah, I think we’re not gonna use that move, sorry.” The dancer grinned at her. Helping her up, she said, “Come on. We need to find a way to express Orpheus’s despair to find his Eurydice again.”</p><p>Sage made her way in front of the mirror. She tried out some arm moves, figuring out what to do. Brooklyn stared at her. She loved seeing how focused the girl could get.</p><p>An idea came to her mind and she made her way to Sage. Taking her hand, she led her to the middle of the room again.</p><p>“What are you doing?” She asked curiously.</p><p>“Shh. Just trust me.” The singer hushed. Brooklyn took the girl’s other hand and set it on her shoulder. She then stepped closer to her and put her hand on her waist. Sage gulped as Brooklyn smiled at her. The singer started leading the girl into a waltz, spinning around the room.</p><p><em>“Okay, I didn’t know she could waltz.”</em> Brooklyn heard her think. <em>Oh, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.</em></p><p>“I think if we want to express his despair,” Brooklyn started, after a few steps, “We need to express his love first.” She spun Sage around as she explained.</p><p>“We need to express how he’s ready to do anything to get Eurydice back from the darkness.” Brooklyn said while dipping the dancer. Sage looked up at her, pleasingly stunned.</p><p>
  <em>“She does have some moves, huh?”</em>
</p><p>“And finally,” Brooklyn took her hand out of Sage’s grasp and put it on her hip. The girl’s eyes went wide as Brooklyn lifted her off the floor. “We need to express how he’d put her above anything else.”</p><p>Brooklyn spun around while looking up at the girl. <em>“Okay I definitely didn’t think she was this strong. Wow.”</em></p><p>Brooklyn put her gently back to the ground. They were still holding onto each other. <em>Gaïa</em>, Brooklyn would never get tired of the way the girl looked at her. <em>She’s so beautiful.</em></p><p>Feeling bold in the moment, Brooklyn tucked a strand of hair behind the girl’s ear. Keeping her hand there, she stroked her thumb lightly on the side of her cheek, briefly bringing her attention to Sage’s mouth as she bit her lip. The dancer gulped and gave Brooklyn a sheepish smile.</p><p>
  <em>“Gaïa. She’s going to be the death of me.”</em>
</p><p>Brooklyn’s stomach flipped. <em>No,</em> you’ll <em>be the death</em> <em>of</em> me.</p><p>“Um that’s a really good idea.” Sage decided to break off the moment, still blushing. “But we’ve got to work on your lift though, if we’re doing this.”</p><p>Brooklyn gaped at her. “Excuse me? My lift was great!” She scoffed dramatically. She couldn’t keep a straight face as she heard Sage laughing out loud. Her laugh was becoming Brooklyn’s favourite soundtrack.</p><p>“I’m sorry. I guess I just saw better than yours.” She laughed, grinning widely.</p><p>“Why you little – what do you want me to do then? Lift you like this?” She came behind Sage, putting her arms around her middle and swept her off her feet. They both laughed loudly as Brooklyn spun them around quickly.</p><p>“Brooklyn! Put me down!” Sage yelped; her tone doused in amusement.</p><p>“Take back what you said!” The singer retorted, laughing loudly. Sage burst into a fit of giggles, Brooklyn thought this was a sound she could listen forever.</p><p>“Sage here you are! I’ve been looking all over for y-“</p><p>Both girls were startled by the voice and stopped laughing. Brooklyn released Sage and turned around to see the intruder. A tall Asian boy was standing at the door with a knowing smirk on his face. She recognised him, Magnus, Apollo’s partner.</p><p>“Mags? What are you doing here?” Sage asked him, clearly surprised.</p><p>The boy smirked at her and briefly turned his gaze towards Brooklyn. “I’m sorry, was I interrupting something?” He replied innocently.</p><p>“Um, no we were finishing up practice.” Brooklyn interjected, smiling at the boy.</p><p>“Mags this is Brooklyn my dance partner.” Sage introduced them. Mags looked at her attentively, giving her a once-over.</p><p>“Ah, the famous Brooklyn!” He greeted amicably. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”</p><p>“Famous?” Brooklyn titled her head, trying to supress her grin.</p><p><em>“Oh no, Mags you better shut up.”</em> She heard Sage’s desperate thought.</p><p>Mags grinned at Brooklyn. “Oh, yes. This one won’t shut up about you.” He said dramatically, pointing at the dancer with his thumb.</p><p><em>“I swear to Gaïa, you’re dead.”</em> Sage glared at her friend with a tight-lipped smile.</p><p>Brooklyn chuckled lightly, hearing her thought. “She only said good things I hope?” She asked him, sharing a teasing look with the boy.</p><p><em>“You better choose your next words carefully.”</em> Sage ducked her head embarrassingly, clearly avoiding anyone’s eyes. <em>She’s so adorable when she’s flustered.</em></p><p>Mags looked at Brooklyn, as if he was trying to figure her out. He briefly seemed to be contemplating his next words then spoke up and said sincerely, “Only the best.” They both shared a smile.</p><p>Sage intervened in the discussion. “Mags what are you doing here?” She pressed on, crossing her arms.</p><p>“Oh, your father’s here for the reunion of the board committee. I saw him pass by and asked me to tell you to join him at the administration office.”</p><p>Brooklyn wore a surprised look on her face. “Your father is part of the committee?” She asked.</p><p>She saw something flash in the girl’s expression. Sage let out a little breath and answered, “Yeah, he’s been part of the board of the Exemplar for years now.”</p><p><em>Okay, this explains a lot.</em> Brooklyn understood the dancer’s obstinance for tradition. Her father must’ve put a lot of pressure on her over this, not wanting to risk his reputation. Sage’s face changed completely as any trace of joy that they had just shared was replaced with an anxious look. “Can we continue this tomorrow?” she asked.</p><p>“Of course, no problem.” Brooklyn answered reassuringly. Sage gave her a little smile and made her way to the door.</p><p>“It was nice meeting you, Brooklyn.” She heard Mags say.</p><p>“Yeah you too.” She smiled back at him and brought her attention to Sage. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sweet Sage.” She smiled as the girl blushed. Sage nodded at her and left the room with Mags in tow.</p><p>She heard Mags whisper teasingly ‘Sweet Sage?’ as they went out the door.</p><p>Brooklyn smiled hearing Sage’s exasperated ‘Shut up’.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be up next week. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to arrange everything to wrap the story up. I'm writing the last part right now, and I feel like there's potential for more. Maybe there might be a sequel, who knows?? We'll see how I feel at the end of the story aha.<br/>Anyways, don't forget to leave a kudos or a comment if you liked it. Or come talk to me @pumpkinunderco on Twitter<br/>Ps: next chapter will be... rich in emotions...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Brooklyn has had a crush on Sage for the longest time but never had a chance to speak to her until now. They're both paired up for the Exemplar, the biggest event at the New Babyl Academy. Brooklyn comes to discover that Sage, though infuriating, is a lot more than what she lets on. But Brooklyn is determined to get the girl out of her shell.<br/>Also, Brooklyn can read minds, no biggy.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello, it's me again!! So this chapter, man... I cannot stress how hard it was to write it. Seriously, I spent almost a week on it and every time I would rewrite it all over again. I wanted to make sure I captured all the right emotions before I posted it, I'm still not sure if I was able to convey everything that I wanted but I couldn't hold on to it much longer. I did end up writing more than what I intended, so a win, I guess??<br/>Also, thank you all for your kind words, they really motivated me to write this chapter!<br/>anyways, enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hold on, hold on. You’re telling me you broke your leg that day and still performed at the recital, the <em>same night</em>?”</p><p>Brooklyn looked at the girl lying beside her on the floor. They had been practicing all day and decided to take a break. Brooklyn was all too happy to just sink on the floor and never get up again. Sage simply sat next to the singer, but Brooklyn pulled her down so they could lay next to each other. As they relaxed, they started talking about the junior recital, when Brooklyn saw Sage dance for the first time. That show was a sort of preparation for the Exemplar. Junior students are asked to perform at the end of the year, as a final exam, in front of the board committee.</p><p>Sage chuckled lightly. “Yup.” She answered bluntly.</p><p>“But you <em>broke</em> your leg!” Brooklyn exclaimed, “and you were fucking amazing! Like how?”</p><p>The dancer’s cheeks flushed lightly. “Well my father wouldn’t let me not perform at the recital. So, I kind of had no choice.”</p><p>Brooklyn stared at the girl intently as her expression fell a little. Ever since she met Sage, Brooklyn could tell the dancer always had to keep her emotions in check. The girl’s face never betrayed her when it came to supressing feelings. But by now, Brooklyn knew her well enough to notice the subtle changes in her expression, whether it’d be a slightly knitted eyebrow or a gently pursed lip. What really gave in this moment was the flash of sorrow that passed through Sage’s warm eyes. She noticed that same glassy look when Mags had mentioned her father when he came to pick her up at their last practice. Brooklyn’s head buzzed, signalling her that Sage was getting too deep in her thoughts. Brooklyn decided to relent and turned her head to the ceiling. “Well. That’s it. You must be the best dancer I know then.” She declared in a teasing tone.</p><p>“Stop it. It wasn’t even that great.” Sage sheepishly mumbled.</p><p>“Are you kidding me it was phenomenal. Best performance of the night. And with a broken leg!”</p><p>“Well at least I managed to impress one person.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Brooklyn leaned on her side to face the girl. Sage was looking up at the ceiling, pensive as always. The dancer sighed lightly and muttered, “My father wasn’t really too pleased with my performance.”</p><p>Brooklyn frowned quizzically. “But you were great. And you had the highest score. Why would he not?”</p><p>“He… It’s complicated.” Sage closed her eyes and exhaled. <em>“He’s just…”</em></p><p>Brooklyn almost hissed as she cut the girl’s thought off that had taken her by surprise. It always got harder when she focused on Sage. If she was going to learn more about the dancer, she had to do it the right way, with Sage actually <em>speaking </em>to her. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” She reassured.</p><p>Sage opened her eyes and turned to her side as well, bringing them face to face with each other. She bit her lip, trying to find the right words. “Have you ever had this feeling of not belonging to yourself?”</p><p>Brooklyn tilted her head lightly, urging the girl to continue. “Like people just expect things from you without considering your feelings or they just assume how you feel. Or they just get into your head and… Sometimes it feels like my body isn’t my own. Or my life isn’t my own, or even my mind.”</p><p>Sage slumped on her back, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t even know what I’m saying, forget it.” She huffed; her tone suddenly quiet. That was something Brooklyn learned about her too. As soon as she opened up, even just a little, she closed herself off ten times quicker as possible.</p><p>“Hey, stop getting stuck in your head.” Brooklyn murmured softly, sitting up next to Sage. </p><p>The dancer looked up at her, tears were forming in her eyes. She was usually so good at pretending like things didn’t affect her. But this might’ve been the last straw. Sage hurriedly wiped them away as she sat up as well. Brooklyn’s heart shattered at that sight. Sage wasn’t good with words, it’s true. But she was well versed in conveying with her eyes. Brooklyn had seen storms and sunshines seep through those brown pools. She had seen glimmers of joy and bouts of anxiety. She had even seen reflections of cold and still oceans. But seeing them almost tip off the edges of Sage’s eyes, that was another sight Brooklyn thought she’d never want to see on the dancer’s face again. </p><p>Brooklyn reached for the girl and came closer as she quickly tucked a strand of hair behind Sage’s ear. </p><p>“It’s easy for you to say.” Sage muttered, lowering her head. “You’re confident, and funny and –“</p><p>Sage cut herself off, forcing herself to take a breath. <em>“Free to do whatever you want.”</em></p><p>Brooklyn didn’t know what the girl meant by that, but she thought it might’ve had to do with her family’s strictness. From what she understood, her parents always sought excellence from their children. It almost seemed like she had been trained to concede, to obey and shut her mouth. Clearly, her family had never considered the girl’s own opinion or feelings. Sage must’ve felt like she didn’t truly matter, like she was just some kind of tool to boost her parents’ reputation in the business. Brooklyn decided not to press on the girl’s unuttered thought, seeing the tormented look on her face. </p><p>“Well I thought you were going to say beautiful, but I’ll take it.” Brooklyn teased her softly. Sage looked up at her and tried to suppress her smile as she rolled her eyes. </p><p>“For the record, I think you’re all of these things too.” Brooklyn told the girl seriously, a genuine smile on her face.</p><p>The girl’s face tinted lightly. “I don’t see how.” She mumbled. </p><p>“Sage…“ Brooklyn couldn’t find the right words. It seemed like Sage wasn’t the only one who struggled with words, huh. She didn’t know how to tell her, just how special she thought Sage was. Brooklyn thought words wouldn’t do her justice anyways. </p><p>Sage looked at her expectantly, waiting for the Latina to finish her sentence. Brooklyn smiled at her and stood up as an idea had just popped to her mind. She extended her hand to the other girl, prompting her to stand up as well. The dancer took her hand and Brooklyn wasted no time in bringing her close. She took one of Sage’s hands and placed it on her shoulder. The singer placed her own hand on the girl’s waist. She then reached for her phone in the pocket of her sweatpants and put on a music. A soft piano ballad blasted through the connected speaker in the back of the room. </p><p>Sage, though amusedly confused, smiled at Brooklyn. “What are you doing?”</p><p>“Showing you how special you are.”</p><p>Brooklyn led her on the routine they had perfected for the Exemplar. The two of them silently danced to the slow rhythm of the song, keeping eyes on each other at all time. </p><p>They spun and glided, through the studio in perfect harmony with each other. Sage wasn’t good with words indeed, but she understood action. And seeing the glint in the girl’s face, Brooklyn knew the dancer understood what she was trying to tell her. As the song came to its end, Brooklyn lifted Sage off the ground. She extended her legs and her arms in the air into an elegant posture, almost like she was flying. Brooklyn looked at her from below. In this moment, and in this stance, with Sage rising above, a soft smile on her face and her eyes closed, she was free. </p><p>Brooklyn brought her down and held her tightly in her arms. Sage clutched onto her upper arms. They both breathed deeply. </p><p>“I never met anyone like you, Sage.” The singer murmured gently. Sage’s eyes flashed a quick uncertain look at Brooklyn. She smiled and ducked her head, blushing lightly. </p><p>Sage shook her head. “You don’t mean that.” She responded timidly. </p><p>Brooklyn smiled at her. She let go of her grip on the dancer’s waist and took both of her hand in hers. “If I say it, I mean it.” Though the words failed her right now, she tried to convey as much as she could. It seemed to work, as Sage squeezed her hands lightly.</p><p>“Thank you for this.” The dancer said sincerely. A moment of stillness passed between them, as they just stared at each other. Sage threw her a mischievous smile. “Your lift still needs some work though.”</p><p>“What, seriously? It was literally so good!” Brooklyn exclaimed throwing her head back. </p><p>“Still shaky.”</p><p>“Well you seemed to enjoy your time up there.”</p><p>“Brooklyn I was slipping in your hands. You barely spun around once.”</p><p>“Okay well - Alright. Whatever you say, Sweet Sage.”</p><p>The room echoed with chuckles as the two girls got back to practice.</p>
<hr/><p>A week later after this rehearsal, Brooklyn found herself becoming closer to the dancer more and more each day. Practice with Sage had become the moment she’d look the most forward to. Brooklyn couldn’t even deny it if she tried to, her friends would make fun of her every time she saw Sage pass in the cafeteria or in the hall, with “a whipped smile and puppy eyes” plastered on her face – according to Aliyah. Their friendship had grown bigger too, extending past the rehearsals. Sometimes Sage would even as go to greet her in the hallways, she would send her cheeky grins when Brooklyn would barge in late at Mister Watts’ class. Sometimes, if Brooklyn was lucky enough, she’d flirt back with her silly advances. They even hung out between classes. They’d spend their time in the dance studio, that had become like their spot. They’d talk about everything and nothing. Sometimes they’d spend their time dancing and sometimes Brooklyn would simply sing to the girl. She’d always feel Sage’s intense stare every time she sang. (She’d even hear one of her passing thoughts that made Brooklyn blush slightly and her heart stutter.)</p><p>She learned a lot of surprising things about Sage. She was the fifth child of six, four older siblings with prominent careers in the business, and a younger sister named Cara. She started dancing at the age of two. Her parents had enrolled her in a little dance studio near Nature District, South side of the city. The owners of that studio were two lovely ladies, Chyra and Riel, who had taught her absolutely everything she knows about dance and whom Sage considered like her own family. Sage’s parents owned a lot of establishments in the city, mostly cultural centres such as theatres, or museums. Brooklyn had heard from the Fivel clan only a few times. She knew they were a big deal in New Babyl. Sage’s father had started a career in choreographing dance numbers for various dance troops, then went on to become head of one of the biggest management agencies in the entire country. He could be compared to a sort of tycoon of the arts, if you will. Their family were obviously very invested in this business. Sage, however, didn’t seem so keen. Of course, she loved dancing, but Brooklyn discovered she also had a passion for biology. Sage told her if her life hadn’t been this way, she’d probably want to become a biologist. Brooklyn had asked her then why she didn’t just do it. “It’s not that simple.” Sage had responded, a rueful smile on her face. “I’m a Fivel. That’s just not we do.”</p><p>It was strange how quickly the dancer had taken such an important place in Brooklyn’s life. She discovered that, though not a particularly good speaker, Sage was an excellent listener. Brooklyn never had a problem with speaking up. Often times, she felt the need to speak up so she wouldn’t get stuck with dozen other voices in her own head. But Sage had a quietness that always prompted the singer to speak more – as if to say, tell me more about you. Growing up with her powers, she always kept her distance from other people, knowing they’d be freaked out by her. She was so used to it, she realized, maybe she wasn’t so different from Sage after all. Brooklyn thought, as much as she could try to stay away from her, the dancer just had a way of disarming her own defences, lure into Brooklyn’s head and nest herself at the top of her mind. Brooklyn could do nothing else but wanting more of the other girl too.</p><p>Brooklyn was running late, as usual. This time though she couldn’t really blame it on anything else but herself. Well more like her body. You know what, after consideration, she blamed it on rehearsals. To put is simple, her body was <em>sore</em>. She had never worked out this much in her entire life, not even during the three years she spent at the Academy before this. She woke up every morning, feeling as if her limbs were ready to fall out. She had a hard time getting up, her tiredness holding her as hostage in her bed. She knew though that the Exemplar would demand such effort, but damn. Even more so, keeping up with her dance partner, that demanded <em>a lot fucking more</em>.</p><p>(Stopping herself from kissing the girl at every occasion she smiled, or laughed, or breathed, that was a whole other kind of effort.)</p><p>Brooklyn had passed the entrance of the Academy just on time. She gave herself a mental pat on her shoulder, making her way to Mister Watts’ class. As she crossed the main hall, she saw a couple of students gathered around the announcement board. They all seemed to be very unsettled. She roughly made her way through the crowd and came face to face with a poster that read:</p><p>“Attention to all competing senior students at the Exemplar this year. As aforementioned at the beginning of the school year, guests from colleges all around the country and across the world will be present during the show. This year, we have the honour of receiving scouts from the New Lazarus College of Arts. The Academy prides itself with its close bonds to this prestigious establishment. And to honour these bonds, the board committee has decided to lend a helping hand in sending out recommendations to the college, for students who wish to apply. This agreement with our associate comes under one request: the students must only perform in a formal and traditional style. This does not affect other students’ chances who will perform with less formal styles and who wish to apply for other colleges. However, students who wish to get a scholarship at NLCA are highly recommended to do so. We wish you all the best of luck.”</p><p>Brooklyn couldn’t believe what she had just read. The Academy was really undermining the students’ chances at getting into New Lazarus. She felt a rush of anger pulse through her. <em>They can’t just do that!</em></p><p>Other people seemed to think the same way as her. Her head pounded, the angry students around her were thinking too loud. Brooklyn quickly pushed through to get out of the mob surrounding her. She thought about the routine Sage and she had configured during the past months. They had incorporated so many styles, some of them even diverged from traditional completely. To change the routine at this point would be a suicide mission. Well, gone were hers and Sage’s chances at getting admitted in New Lazarus.</p><p>
  <em>Oh no. Sage.</em>
</p><p>Brooklyn hurried towards the class. Sage must’ve definitely known about this since her father was on the committee. The girl must’ve been highly upset about it, knowing she probably wanted to apply at New Lazarus. More so, Brooklyn didn’t want to be the reason why Sage wouldn’t get a chance, since she’s the one who kind of forced her to go for not-traditional-at-all type of styles.</p><p>She stepped into the classroom and searched for brown eyes. She saw Sage at her usual seat, the girl wore the same look she had on the day Brooklyn met her for the first time, cold and disinterested. Their eyes met for a moment and Brooklyn sent her a small smile but the girl barely reciprocated. Something flashed in her eyes that the singer had never seen before. She seemed so unsettled. Brooklyn tried to make her way up to her, but just then Mister Watts decided to start the lesson.</p><p>“Alright everybody please settle down.” He called, standing in front of the class. He directed his attention to Brooklyn who was still standing at the door. “Miss Reyez, please tell me you haven’t forgotten where your seat is.”</p><p>Brooklyn looked at her teacher then briefly at Sage who was obviously trying to avoid eye contact. She conceded and made her way to her seat. Aliyah waved at her briefly as she settled next to her and whispered, “Did you see the announcement?”</p><p>The singer nodded and answered, “This is completely ridiculous.” They both looked up as the class was starting to get agitated again. It seemed like everybody was worried about the New Lazarus deal.</p><p>Mister Watts tried to calm the class down as the students started voicing their concerns. “I know a lot of you are upset about the announcement. But you all have to understand that the measures we are taking only concern those who wish to apply at New Lazarus. The establishment highly values formality and tradition. This decision was made with the board committee who deemed it fair to help students who specialised in these forms.”</p><p>Brooklyn tried to keep her cool as she felt her head pound. So many thoughts made their way to her ears she couldn’t block them all out. She tried to concentrate on the current discussion that had taken place between Mister Watts and Bodhi.</p><p>“This isn’t fair at all!” Brooklyn turned her attention to Bodhi. “We should all be given equal chances at getting a scholarship from them, based on our talent and not the style we perform in!”</p><p>Cheers of agreement resonated in the class. Mister Watts could hardly be heard. “You will all still be able to apply for New Lazarus. Students who have a traditional background will just have, a um, a small jumpstart. This doesn’t mean that your talent won’t be taken into account. Besides, there are so many more colleges that will be present. I can assure you, you will all have opportunities.”</p><p>“A jumpstart? How can you even call this a fair deal!” Bodhi retorted while standing up as he spoke up for the class.</p><p><em>“New Lazarus ain’t all that.” </em>In the flurry of voices that surrounded her, Brooklyn recognized that one to be Sage’s. She frowned lightly. Didn’t Sage want to go to New Lazarus? She directed her attention at the girl. She was listening at the students who were complaining, she almost looked guilty. Brooklyn thought her father must’ve been in on this decision by the board.</p><p>“I think it shouldn’t be a problem.” Someone spoke up. The class brought their attention to Tempo who stood up as well. “Students who specialize in formal dance should be prioritized.”</p><p>“Easy for you to say.” Bodhi clapped back. “Your mother is lead of the board. I bet she pulled some strings for your spoiled ass.”</p><p>The two boys were getting heated, glaring at each other while the class watched, “ooh’s” resonating in the classroom.</p><p>“You better watch your mouth.” Tempo threatened lowly.</p><p>“Or what?” Bodhi retorted.</p><p>“Gentlemen settled down!” Mister Watts intervened between the two students. “Such behaviour will not be accepted during my class. The decision of the board is final, so let this be an encouragement for all of you to work harder.”</p><p>Bodhi and Tempo, though still fuming, relented both and went back to their sits as Mister Watts moved on with his lesson. Brooklyn didn’t pay much attention during class, she kept on throwing worried glances at Sage. The dancer seemed to be as distracted as her. Brooklyn tried to focus in on the girl, to figure out what was troubling her mind, but relented. This wasn’t the right way, she had to make Sage talk to her about it. Only she feared the girl, who had been all what she could think about during the past two months, would shut her down again.</p>
<hr/><p>After the lesson ended, Brooklyn tried to make her way to Sage, but the girl hurriedly grabbed her things and was already out the door by the time Brooklyn could even stand up from her seat. She knew she wouldn’t be able to see the other girl before their usual practice, so she decided to leave the dancer some time alone.</p><p>Later in the afternoon, after Mister Chapter’s class, she made her way to the studio expecting to see the dancer. Sage was always the first to arrive at practice and Brooklyn often found her already immersed in her dance (that was probably the singer’s favourite part of the day). What she found instead was far less pleasing. As she was approaching the studio, she heard someone speak sternly.</p><p>“I already told you to stop this nonsense. Why don’t you ever listen?” She heard a deep male voice say.</p><p>“You’re the one who never listens to me! Have you ever considered how I felt about this?” She heard Sage’s voice. Brooklyn had never heard her speak like that, she sounded so angry. The Latina came closer to the entrance, she hid behind the open door and saw a tall man standing in the middle of the room. Brooklyn guessed he was Sage’s father. He was wearing a black suit and had dark hair. She couldn’t see his face since his back was turned to her, however she did see Sage’s face. Brooklyn’s heart almost shattered at the sight of the girl. She could see the tears threatening to spill on the dancer’s cheeks.</p><p>“We talked about this. New Lazarus offers the best programs. Do you know how good it’ll be for your career? And you want to throw all of this away for what? To express yourself for one night? I’m already on edge with the board here. I’m not going to let you compromise our family’s status. All of your siblings went there. <em>You</em> will not break that cycle.” The man said in an authoritative tone. Brooklyn scoffed hearing this. “Unless you think you know what’s best for you?” He demanded expectantly. Sage ducked her head, she seemed to be weighing her next words.</p><p>“I want to –“ She started. <em>“I want to go to Cartage University.”</em> Brooklyn heard her think, but the girl shook her head.</p><p>The Latina frowned worriedly, her eyes focusing on the girl. <em>Come on, Sage. Just tell him.</em></p><p>“No, I don’t.” Sage conceded, lowering her head.</p><p>“Good.” Her father said. He exhaled loudly, before approaching his daughter. He placed his hand on her cheek, forcing her to look at him. He continued, “I’m just doing what’s best for you.”</p><p>“Yeah right.” Sage muttered, clenching her jaw.</p><p>“What was that?”</p><p><em>“You’re doing what’s best for your reputation and to spite Phydra.”</em> Brooklyn’s frown deepened hearing that. She wondered what the dancer was talking about. She knew Phydra Fyer was the head of the board and Tempo’s mother, but she didn’t know what she had to do with Sage’s situation.</p><p>Sage shook her head mumbling, “Nothing.”</p><p>Her father raised his head and sighed. “Remember who you are, Sage.” He lowered his hand to take her chin and shook it lightly. “You’re a Fivel. Do not disappoint me.” He said in a definitive tone. Sage glared up at him and sprung out of his grasp, turning her back to him. The man sighed again and decided to leave.</p><p>Brooklyn quickly jumped back from her hiding spot behind the door, only to come face to face with the imposing figure. She looked up at his disgruntled face. He did look a lot like Sage, he wore the same look Sage had when she had met her. His eyes were brown too, but they didn’t radiate the same way Sage’s did. There was no trace of warmth, they were rather contemptuous, actually. His mouth was drawn into a grimace, paralleling the two steep lines on his forehead that were accentuated by his knitted brows. He seemed momentarily taken aback as he saw Brooklyn come out of nowhere. She watched him shake his head and swiftly get around her. The Latina sent daggers at his back as he turned the corridor.</p><p>When she came into the studio, Sage was distressingly pacing, her arms crossed. Brooklyn’s head buzzed as Sage’s thoughts were whirring around her. She made a move to draw Sage’s attention, blocking off her thoughts. The dancer jumped in surprise. “I guess you heard all of it, didn’t you?” She asked, her tone still fuming from the argument she just had.</p><p>“I’m sorry. I – I didn’t mean to.” Brooklyn apologized. “I heard you from the hallway. I didn’t want to walk in on you and your father, so I just… Um…”</p><p>She cut herself, not knowing what to say. Brooklyn couldn’t take Sage’s worried face. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, approaching the girl.</p><p>“No, it doesn’t matter anyway.” The dancer shook her head and walked away from Brooklyn to the middle of the room. There she went again, closing herself off. Brooklyn was not having it.</p><p>“No, I think it does. You’re clearly upset about it.” Brooklyn said, following Sage. “If this is not what you want, you shouldn’t put yourself through it.”</p><p>“Just leave it okay?” Sage turned around her voice strained. She sounded so exhausted. “We have a lot of work to do to change the routine.”</p><p>Brooklyn narrowed her eyes at her and shook her head. “What? No! Forget about that. We’ve worked too hard for this. <em>You’ve</em> worked too hard for this. We can’t just change it now.”</p><p>“Brooklyn if we don’t do it, we won’t get a chance to go to New Lazarus.”</p><p>“I don’t care about that. Forget New Lazarus. This is not what you want, I know it.”</p><p>Sage’s eyes started watering; Brooklyn could see her struggling to keep it all in. “What choice do I have? I can’t just go against him!” The dancer exclaimed.</p><p>“Yes you can!” Brooklyn approached her. She lowered her head, trying to capture the girl’s eyes. “Sage you have so much more to offer than this. Look what you’ve done with our choreo so far. It’s fucking amazing.”</p><p>“You don’t understand! My family – they’re counting on me, I can’t just – I –“ Sage stuttered. She was trying so hard to contain her feelings. Brooklyn’s head buzzed, but she wanted none of that. She was determined to make the girl speak to her.</p><p>Brooklyn took Sage’s hands in hers. “I’ve seen the way you dance when you let loose and I can tell you love it.” She said softly. A single tear rolled down the girl’s cheek. Sage looked off to the side, not wanting to look vulnerable in front of the singer. Brooklyn brought her hand up to brush it off lightly. Seeing the girl like this – Brooklyn swore she would fight anything that made Sage feel this way.</p><p>“You shouldn’t let your father use you like this, just so he can brag to his colleagues.” Sage looked up at that. She wore a confused frown on her face. Brooklyn pressed on, “If Cartage University is what you want, then go for it. Fuck what your family says.”</p><p>Something shifted in the girl’s eyes, and Brooklyn had a feeling it couldn’t be something good as Sage removed her hands from Brooklyn’s. The dancer took a step back and looked at her intently, her frown deepening. “What is it?” Brooklyn asked worriedly. Did she say something wrong?</p><p>“How did you know I wanted to go to Cartage University?” Sage asked confused, almost accusingly. “I didn’t tell anyone about that. Not even my closest friends.”</p><p>“Well you just told to your fa –“ Brooklyn faltered. Oh no. Sage hadn’t told him. But she thought it. <em>Oh shit.</em></p><p>“How did you know Brooklyn?” Sage pressed on impatiently. The singer didn’t know what to say. Her head suddenly pounded, taking her by surprise and she couldn’t help but hiss.</p><p><em>“She wouldn’t be able to – could she?”</em> Hearing this, Brooklyn looked up at Sage. Just then, as they both stared into each other’s eyes, a flash of realisation crossed Sage’s face.</p><p>“How long?” Sage demanded, clenching her jaw. Brooklyn looked at her in surprise, a feeling of dread taking over her. “I- what do you mean?” the singer asked.</p><p>“How long have you been reading my mind Brooklyn?” The girl demanded again, raising her voice. Brooklyn was speechless and gaped at the girl. There was no possible way she knew about these kinds of powers.</p><p>“How – How do you know about mind reading?” The singer asked baffled.</p><p>Sage rolled her eyes. “Mags can read minds too.” She said dismissively.</p><p>“Wait. Mags can read minds?” Okay, Brooklyn definitely did not expect <em>that</em>. That would explain a lot about their first encounter. That would explain the way he’d look at her, trying to figure her out. Maybe he had been trying to read Brooklyn’s mind.  “I never met anyone else who could.”</p><p>“Not the point Brooklyn!”</p><p>“I’m sorry! I’m sorry.” She apologized, “I know I should’ve told you, but I didn’t know how to do it without freaking you out.” Brooklyn paused for a moment and pondered out loud, “Come to think about it now, I guess you wouldn’t have been but…”</p><p>“So you have read my mind.” Sage crossed her arms, glaring at the singer.</p><p>“No! I mean yes.” Brooklyn stuttered, shaking her head. “But I always tried to cut you off. It’s just, you thought loudly about me and I wanted to know more so I –“</p><p>Brooklyn cut herself short when she saw the look on Sage’s face. The storm, that Brooklyn had noticed when she first met the girl, passed through her eyes again. Only this time the storm was threatening to burst out of them, onto her cheeks. This time, the storm didn’t express any form of passion. No, there was only grief and betrayal. “So you were just playing me all along.” Sage’s voice wavered slightly when she spoke up.</p><p>“No! No Sage! I didn’t –“</p><p>“You didn’t what? Hear everything I thought about you? Didn’t think it’d be intrusive? Didn’t know what you were doing to me and still played along with it? Is that it?” Sage’s anger was out of control at this point. The tears sitting at the edges of her eyes had disappeared. “I trusted you. I told you things, I – I gave you a chance to show me who you were and – and you didn’t. No instead, you forced your way in and just took everything!”</p><p>Brooklyn felt a stab to her heart at every word the girl was uttering, a hard lump forming itself in her throat. Sage paused, she looked at the singer resentfully. “You say that my family, that my father is using me but you’re just like the rest of them. You couldn’t take it that things weren’t done your way, so you just fucking messed with my head!”</p><p>“You’re selfish Brooklyn.” Sage said with all the venom that she could muster. Brooklyn was trying her best to contain her on tears from falling as she heard the girl’s next words. Sage looked at her, eyes glaring as she said her next words. “And I don’t want to do anything with you anymore.”</p><p>Sage turned her back to Brooklyn and stormed towards the exit. She cast one last fleeting look at Brooklyn before she stepped out the door, leaving the singer to just stand there in the middle of the studio. Brooklyn couldn’t move. Everything Sage had told her was true. She did force her way on Sage, and she did mess with her. She knew what she had done all along and didn’t come clean about it. Brooklyn forced herself to take a breath as her tears finally fell. She ruined her one chance with the girl that she came to discover and to like.</p><p>
  <em>I’m such an idiot.</em>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading!! It was an emotional rollercoaster. In the first scene of this chapter, I imagined them dancing to the Sage &amp; Brooklyn soundtrack from the show. I wrote that part at 3am listening to the music and it really did inspire me. Also Mags is a mind reader! I'd like to think that Brooklyn and Mags can read mind because they're both very empathetic people.<br/>I'm still figuring out how to handle the last chapter and what I'm going to do after this fic. I know a lot of you wanted to see more of this, however I feel like a 5 chapter arc is enough. But perhaps a sequel should be interesting or Sage's POV, a couple of one-shots, we'll see! (As of right now, I'm more leaning towards a Sage POV take on this story, where we get to see more about her family and Mags obviously. Let me know if you'd be interested.)<br/>until then, you know where to find me (@pumpkinunderco on Twitter) if you want to yell at me about this chapter oops.</p>
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